New week

The two weeks of intensive job search have passed. I have explored several possibilities. As well as a couple of opportunities externally, all last week I was getting hints from HR that management was working on transferring me to another business group. I went on one interview with one of our partners and had a phone interview on a position with the Sun business group.

On Friday, I got word from HR that it was practically certain that a transfer would be approved and that my severance would not be processed. We would know for sure on Monday morning.

This morning, HR called and confirmed that I would be transferred to the HP business unit. She did not know who I would be reporting to or exactly what I would be doing. She assured me it woud be a lateral move. Later in the day, after I emailed HR, I received a call from one of the managers who again confirmed the position and gave me some of the details on the new role.

This looks like an excellent opportunity that I really want to jump into.

I was prepared for whatever way God would lead so even if there had been no position for me, I would have been good with that. This is a great lesson for me. I have to learn to put my complete trust in the Lord and let him move in His ways.

Counting down

Its near the end of the day, so I have only a couple of days left at this job. In my job search, this has been a very productive week. After contacting many in my network of contacts and customers, I now have a face to face interview tomorrow, a phone interview Monday, and there are signs that a new position may be made available internally.

Thanks to God, I have been very upbeat when talking to people. I have talked to so many customers who are not hiring because of the uncertainty in the economy. It will be the end of the year before most of them starting thinking about adding to their staffs. And then it will depend on the economy.

Again, my trust is in he Lord. It is so good to see how He is working in this whole situation. Without that assurance, it would be so easy to sink into dispair at times like this. But I am holding on to the promise of Romans 8:28.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

(Rom 8:28 ESV)

Unemployed

We had a great trip visiting my daughter and grand-daughters in TN at the end of September. I came back to work on Oct. 1. Oct. 2, I received a call from my manager and an HR manager. I was read the standard legalese which stated that management had decided that I would not be a good fit for the jobs that I had applied for. October 16 would be my last day unless I could find another position internally.

Actually, I thought this day may come since the company had announced a “restructuring” of jobs back in July. Our positions would be eliminated and new ones were created with different focus. They gave all of us an opportunity to apply and interview for the ones that were interesting. But since then, management had been mute on what was going on.

I found out later that only one other co-worker received the same call on Oct. 2. There are a number of others that even now don’t know what is going on with their jobs. I would have expected management to extend offers to those that were not eliminated. But as of Friday, that had not happened.

In the past, layoffs had been very sudden. The 2 weeks notice is very unusual. But I know that its for us to finish up or transition projects to others. But I feel very fortunate that I did get the extra time. I think I have been using it productively. On Monday, I began contacting my LinkedIn contacts and internal people that I had worked with. I noticed a position open with one of our other business groups and I applied for that. I called the manager and we had an initial phone interview on Tuesday. I was also able to obtain recommendations from some of the internal people as well as customers. At this time, I am hoping that something will happen with that. My resume has been forwarded to one of our partner companies and they want to do a phone interview on Tuesday.

On the emotional side, I am fighting depression. But spiritually, I am depending completely on my Lord for direction. He is the one that will show me His plan for the rest of my life. He will open or close doors. When I start to get a little depressed, I try to focus on that plan.

I will try to do a little journaling here to document how things go with the job search. I know that there are many people in the same situation and I solicit any comments.